THE GOLDEN CALF

**Waqar Daniel** Wed 27 Jun 2007, 6:34 pm

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16]

The story of Golden Calf is written in the Book of Exodus Chapter 32 and recorded with the objective of teaching, correction and training in righteousness to prepare us spiritually. As the story unfolds, we learn that how the golden calf still works in our lives.

"And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.
And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden rings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
And all the people brake off the golden rings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.
And he received it at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, and made it a molten calf: and they said, These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." [Exodus 32:1-4]

Here in the passage, the Jews got impatient while Moses was with God in the mount for forty days. They started to doubt whether God is with them or not. While facing problems in our daily lives, we sometimes also react like the Jews at the time of Moses. We are in a hurry to get an answer from God and look ways of getting the answer. We forget about God and all His good work He did in our lives, when we were enjoying His blessings. In times of trouble, we simply forget how great, good, kind and merciful God has been to us. While we enjoy the blessings, we completely forget about God. In good times, a TV program, a movie, songs, looking and dressing like famous actors, and other activities are more important in our lives.

When hardships fall on us, we start reminding God that He can do anything and nothing is impossible for Him. Then we realize, that God is our Savior and He alone can fill in the vacuum created by our bad choices. On the other hand, in good times, Britney Spears or Paris Hilton or any other may get a place on my room's wall and I may adore her for hours. But in hard times, a miracle happens, Jesus replaces all these people, and now you can find a Bible on my desk, and hours telling God that is able to do anything. It is so strange!

Now the golden calf still lives in our lives in some form or the other. For example, I may take up yoga, as mostly people think it is "cool and fashionable" or watching TV may take more important phase in my life or impressing my boss to earn few incentives and some position in the company may be more impotant to me than God. I may start believing in karma - so what? - it is cool and fashionable. These are very few I have listed which makes them a golden calf in our lives.

Let me take example of yoga here. I find many people practising yoga in their lives and yet they call themselves Christians or true followers of Jesus. Yoga is basically, a way to worship sun god by hindus. I know this will sound something foolish to many, but it is true. The word karma used by many Pastors has also a pagan root.

Now when we errect these small golden calves around us, we also attribute God's qualities to them the way Jews did "These are thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt."

One of our family friends advised me to use yoga as I work long hours and am under lot of stress. Now please remember, this lady is Director of a Christian Organization. She started to tell me how good yoga is, and what benefits it will bring abut in my personal life. I told her that it is pagan way of worshipping sun god and to my amazement she quoted a verse from the Bible to support yoga which said, "Because everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if being received with thanksgiving." [Titus 4:4]

She just made a worship made to demons equal to worship done in Spirit to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. I told her a small story, that there was a man, who was constantly searching for light (knowledge). So one day early before day break, he got up and took a torch and started his journey for in search of light. On his way, he met another man, who asked him, where he was going. The man replied, he was in search of light. So the second man said, how strange it is that you are holding a light in your hand and still looking for light?

We have all powerful God and His life giving words to guide us in our journey to eternal life. Do we need these golden claves in our lives? Surely, the answer is NO.

"Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies." [Exodus 32:25]

When we start living in sin, start making golden claves in our lives and start attributing God's Glory to them, we are in a disorder. We start looking for different ways and mediums to satisfy ourselves and thus in doing so become a laughingstock to others. There is no self-control and discipline and these are all qualities of satan.

"Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of my book. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin" [Exodus 32:33-34]

While accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior and God the Father as the God Most High, we do not turn away from our sinful life becuase, we normally say that we live under grace and misquote Paul. Paul never said that we can sin. Infact Paul said that Grace is no license to sin,

"For the Grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" [Titus 2:11-14]

So what do we learn here from the Chapter 32 of Exodus.

1. We should always worship God and put Him first in everything.
2. There should be NO disorder in our lives.
3. God does punish people who do not follow Him, whether Christian or not Christian, it makes no difference. God is a JUST God.
4. We must be careful and watch out for satan's attacks.

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks abut, seeking whom he may devor" [1 Peter 5:8]

We read that it were Jews who asked (forced) Aaron to make an idol to worship in place of God. Well such people do have a leader and where there is God's work going on, satan tries to convince a handful to follow him too and try to bring disorder in God's work. Now who were these people who instigated some Jews to ask for a golden calf in place of God the Most High?

There were two Jews, who instigated others to ask Aaron to make a golden calf for Israel. "As Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men oppose the truth. Their minds are corrupt, and the faith they teach is counterfeit." [2 Timothy 3:8]

This is the fifth point, which is the most important here in the story of the golden calf, "DO NOT FOLLOW THE CROWD IN DOING WRONG" [Exodus 23:2]

In our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Waqar Daniel